Improved watchman s time-detector



J. BURK.

WATCH CONTROL.

No. 31,052. Patented Jan. 1, 1861.

Wizawes;

tical central section of same.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

JOHN BURK, or souwnnmnenn, wUR'rnMBnno, GERMANY, ASSIGNUB TO JACOB BUERK, or men, INDIANA.

IM P ROVED WATCHMANS TI M E-DETECTOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 31,052, dated January 1, 1801.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN BiiRK,of Schwenningen, in the Kingdom of Wiirtembcrg, Germany,- have invented a new and Improved \Vatchma'ns Control; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a face view of my invention when closed and ready for operation. Fig. 2 is a plan or. face view of the same, the cover having beenremoved to expose the working parts. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my invention,the case having been cut open to expose the working parts. Fig. 4: is a ver- Fig. 5 is an elevation of theseveral keys'which are used for operating my watch'mans control. Fig. 6

is an elevation of the key used for setting the same-and'towind it up. Fig. 7 is a plan or face view of the strip of paper which gives an account of'thecircuit of the watchman.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the, several figures.

All devices heretofore used for the purpose of controlling watchmen are of a complicated construction, which renders the same very expensive and in many cases very liable to get out of order and difficult to repair. Furthermore, most of these devices can only be used in one spot, and in each room or other place in the circuit or beat of the watchman a separate controlling device has to be provided. l

A watch which the watchman can carry with him, and which gives a clear, true, and permanent picture of the circuit of the watchman in regard to time and direction, is of a decided advantage, and if this object can be obtained by a device which is at once very simple and not subject to the disadvantage of a complicated mechanism, can be got up with little expense, and. for this very reason brought into common use, a watchmans control is obtained which'is far superior to anything now in use as far as convenience, security, and simplicity are concerned, and which oft'ers a considerable advantage as regards the security of the public.

My device is so arranged that it can be combined with every stout watch or with an y I other port-able clock-movement, and it is inclosed in a strong metallic case. It is placed into the hands of the watchman looked just before he starts on his beat, and on his return he gives it back to the superintendent or to the supervising officer, who on opening the same can 'find the precise time when the watchman has visited the several stations to be visited on his heat, which direction he has taken, in which order he visited the several stations, what delays and deviations have occurred, how long he has tarried on the way between the several stations and on the stations themselves, (be. This purpose is effected by a hollow drum, which rotates with the hour-hand of the watch or clock movement, and which carries a narrow strip of paper marked off into twelve parts to represent the hours from (3 a. m. to G p. m, or vice versa,

in combination with a series of spring-points: which are operated by keys fastened in the several rooms or stations which the watchman has to visit in such a manner that by indentations produced by the spring-points on various parts of the paper the time when the watchman has visited the several stations can be ascertained.

To enable others skilled in the artto make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation with reference to the drawings.

The drum A, which is provided on its edges with small projecting flanges, is fitted on the arbor of the hands of'a watch or clock movement, the minute-hand having been taken off, and a slot in the lower edge of its hub a fits over the hour'hand in such a manner that said drnm is caused to rotate once in twelve hours with the hour-hand. It is retained in its place by a barb, which is'hinged to a post 0 on one side of the dial, andwhich is secured by a spring-catch (Z on the opposite side, and a pin e, which projects from the lower surface of said bar into a central opening in the hub of the drum, serves to keep the same steady during its motion. Beyond the drum and secured to the faceplate of the watch (which is somewhat larger than said drum) is a series of spring-points B, one above the other. Said points are turned toward the circumference of the drum, andt hey stand exactly opposite the figure XII on the dial of the watch. Close behind these springpoints and firmly fastened in the face-plate is apin f, that receives the several keys C,Which serve to operate the springs. The whole is covered up by the cover D of the case E,- and a small lock, which is attached to the inner side of the case, serves to fasten said cover. If a strip of paper is now wound around the drum A, and if one or more of the points are forced up against the circumference of said drum by one or more of the keys U,which are inserted on the pin f through a suitable keyhole 0 in the cover D, small holes are produced in said strip of paper by the action of the pins. The circumference of the drum is provided with grooves corresponding in number to the spring-points and just opposite to the same, so that the space below those portions of the paper which are to be penetrated by the points is hollow, and thus the points pass through the paper without becoming injured.

The stripof paper 1 is divided into twelve hours and into the required parts of hours by lithographic printing, and it is retained by a small point projecting from the face of the drum. The division on thestrip goes from 6 to 6, or it may commence and end with any other hour, as may be desirable. In placing the strips on the drum the dotin the figure b on the black end of the paper is pressed on the point of the drum and the strip of paper is drawn from left to right, thereby bringing the dot in the figure 6 at the white end of the paper also on the point of the drum.

- The number of the holes produced in the paper depends entirely upon the form of the hit of the key, for it this bit is so arranged that the same depresses the first, second,

third, fourt-h,.&e., spring-points an equal number of holes are produced on the corresponding places of the paper. The strips of paper are colored red at their under sides and are provided with gum or mucilage for the purpose of pasting them into a book,and as they are made moist for this purpose the red color penetrates through the holes and makes them appear perfectly clear and distinct on the upper surface of said strips.

The operation of this device will be easil'y understood. In the beat of the watchman a number of stations are selected, which are to be visited regularly by the watchman atevery hour or at certain fixed intervals. In each of these stations a small closet is secured, and in thecloset, securedbya chain or by an yotherdesirable means, is one of the beat-rolling keys 0. Said chain is attached in the interior of the closet in such a manner that the key cannot be taken away. The watch is wound up every day by the superintendent, and a fresh strip of paper is fastened to'the drum. After the drum has been replaced the watch is locked.

ahekey remains in the hands of the superintendent. In this state the watchman receives the watch, and all he has to do is on reaching the several stations to take the keys fastened in the same, insert them into the key-hole. in the cover of the case, and turn them, so as to force the sprin g-poin ts through the paper at the respective spots.

The number of the holes produced by the spring-points can be made to correspond to the number of thestations-on th e first station one hole, on the second two, on the third three, and so on, if the number of the stations does not exceed that of the points. If the number of the stations exceeds that of the points, they can be marked on the strip of paper by various combinations of the pointswithout changing in the least the construction of the apparatus. Six springpoints will be sufiicient foralarge number of stations Notwithstanding the fact that it is not necessary to.,,desiguatea great many stations,,since a small number of stations can be selected, so as to compel the watchman to pass over the entire beat in going from one station to the other, it is still of-no small advantage to be able to use the same watch for a large num her of stations, since its use is not restricted to single houses, manufactories, or towns, but it may be used with advantage on post-routes and railroads.

At the end of the day the watchisreturned to the superintendent. He opens it, takes out the stripof paper, replaces it by a new one, winds up the watch, sets it, if necessary, looks it, and returns it to the next watchman. On the strip of paper he finds everything marked, as hereinabove stated, and if it is desired to know how long the watchman has tarried on each station it is only necessary to order him to turn the respective keys at the moment he reaches each station and again just before he leaves the same.

For the purpose of setting the watch the same key is used which serves to wind it up. This key is represented in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and it will be noticed that it has a pin g'inserted in its side. This pin represents the minute-hand of the watch, and the key-is inserted into the central arbor of the watch, so that said arbor corresponds with the position of the minute-hand, and it is now turned until it corresponds with the proper figure to designate the correct time.

The principal advantages of my device are that it can be carried conveniently in the pocket. Its construction is exceedingly simple and durable, and it can be made andsold at a reasonable cost. It is so arranged that the same watch can he used for any number of stations without changing its construction or rendering it more complicated. It can be placed into the hands of the most awkward watchman, since it makes no difference in what direction or how often the keys are turned. It is easy to prevent an imitation or forging of the keys by the watchman simply by changing "the keys sometimes without the knowledge of the watchman. It gives the means to read off the correct account of. each station by taking out the strip of paper, and it enables the superintendent to keep a coin tinuons account of the manner in which the watchman performs his duty by pasting the several strips of paper on the leaves of a book which is kept for this purpose.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The employment of a series of keys (3, with 1 bits of different shapes, in combination with spring-points B and with a drum A, carrying, a strip of paper F and rotated by a clocklnovement, substantially as and for the purposes herein specified.

In testimony of \vhichinvention I hereunto set my hand.

J. BUR-K.

Witnesses:

FR. HAUSER, J OH. JANROF. 

